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ICU Delirium Assessments Often Misclassify Spanish-Speaking Patients
- Research led by Dr. Ana Lucia Fuentes Baldarrago reveals disparities in delirium detection among Spanish-speaking Latinx ICU patients at the ATS 2025 International Conference.
- Standard delirium screening tools like CAM-ICU can misclassify Spanish-speaking patients, leading to false-positive and false-negative diagnoses.
- The study introduces the Family Confusion Assessment Method (FAM-CAM) as a culturally tailored alternative for Spanish-speaking populations.
- Spanish-FAM, a Spanish-language version of FAM-CAM, demonstrated superior sensitivity and specificity in detecting delirium compared to CAM-ICU.
- Spanish-speaking patients faced disparities in care delivery, including higher rates of physical restraints and deeper sedation levels, and lower access to delirium prevention interventions.
- The research advocates for integrating culturally sensitive tools like Spanish-FAM into clinical practice to improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce health disparities.
- Utilizing family caregivers in the screening process can address language barriers and enhance delirium detection without the need for additional bilingual providers.
- Future research may involve exploring biological markers of delirium and conducting clinical trials to assess the impact of Spanish-FAM implementation in diverse ICU settings.
- By tailoring diagnostic protocols to linguistic and cultural realities, this research aims to promote health equity and improve outcomes for Spanish-speaking ICU patients.
- The study highlights how language barriers impact delirium detection, emphasizing the importance of culturally competent tools in critical care for equitable patient management.
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